A few weeks back, I stopped by a yard sale on my way home from church. We don't usually have yard sales on Sundays in my neighborhood. I thought it a bit strange, but I was game for a good find. I love talking to the people hosting the yard sales. I find that when you have a friendly conversation with them, they're more inclined to negotiate or lower their prices.
I didn't even have $5 on me, but I you never know what little gem you'll find at a yard sale. I picked up a picture frame for a quarter, but really, my mind was on a set of end tables I saw as I drove up and parked. I knew I didn't have the cash for them, but I decided to ask anyway. "How much do you want for those coffee tables?"
She looked and said $5. Gulp. "Will you take $4?" Gulp. Gulp. That's all I had on me. Honest. And with a smile, she said YES and gave them to me for $4. Hello!

So let me introduce you to my "NEW" $4 end tables after working a little paint magic.

As you can see, my kids were working their side walk chalk magic too. Got to love summer!
The transformation for these tables seem simple and sweet, and it was really an easy transformation. Well, it should have been easy. I kind of took the long road to get these table to look good again.

First, let me tell you about some embarrassing mistakes. I was completely fooled by thinking these were oak table tops. They were heavy like oak. They looked like oak...but after sanding them, I had my doubts.

....which were only confirmed when I stained them. Yikes, this is terrible. I planned to stain the top and paint the legs, but it was clear that was not going to happen here. Back to sanding.

After my second sanding job, I saw the pressed wood.

So my plans changed to paint the entire table one color. I thought about doing a fun summer color, but I don't plan on keeping these end tables. I purchased them to flip and sell them for a little more. Most people like traditional colors when they purchase furniture, so I decided to go traditional black.

I used the best primer out there, and since I didn't want to waste any more time, I used spray primer. Your DIY project takes less time when you can use spray paint.

I always sand after primer to get a really good smooth surface. It makes the paint job look so much better.

Then I decided to use both spray and canned paint. I spray paint legs because it's hard to get your paint brush around those curves without leaving brush marks. I paint flat surfaces, like table tops, with canned paint and a brush because spray paint can leave blotches (not seen on leg curves). Confusing? You can take a look at my "How to paint Furniture Tips" HERE.

Again, spray the legs, brush on paint for the tops. Just make sure you use the same paint, from the same brand, in the same gloss. There aren't a whole lot of options out there when it comes to mixing paint like this. Black, white, and a few other colors are available in both spray and can. Of course, if I had a paint sprayer things would be different.... I know what I want for my birthday now.

I used two coats of paint on the top. Here's the first coat.

And here's the second coat of paint.

Don't the tables look so much better. I almost want to keep them. Almost.

I have another idea for these end tables too. I'm "thinking" about making them into ottomans, but right now, we don't have a huge "need" for ottomans. I guess we'll just have to see?

Whatever happens, they look a whole lot better now!

Don't you just love what paint can do?

So do you have any good finds from a yard sale that you've transformed? Yard sale transformations are the best! There right up there with thrift store transformations.